Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 412
July 16, 2014
Kimberley Troutte: GOD WHISPERER
New book! GOD WHISPERER
10% of author royalties will be donated to the American Society for Deaf Children.
I am so happy to be here again. Thank you, Delilah.
When I posted in April, I was super-excited about the upcoming releases of our SEALS OF SUMMER Military Superbundle. Thanks to you wonderful readers, we hit the NY Times Bestselling list. Wowza, it’s still such a dream come true!
Since April, I’ve released another book in the SEAL EXtreme Team series, LOCK and LOAD, and am working on book 3. I love, love, love the SEALs. Writing about them makes my heart go pitter-patter. But sometimes I need to go in a different direction when a story grabs hold of my heart and won’t let go until I write it.
GOD WHISPERER is a romantic and inspirational suspense. I hope you all like it (she says as she chews her nails). It’s different and personal. My son was the inspiration behind the book because he was born with a very rare defect called Atresia—meaning no ear canal. He was also missing an eardrum. The surgeon at UCLA drilled a hole and created an eardrum from tissue behind my son’s ear. The auditory ossicles, or hearing bones, vibrated to sound on the operating table. When my boy could hear out of both ears for the first time? Holy moly, what a miracle!
While the book is pure fiction, a river of truth flows through the pages. The emotions? Those are mine. The fear of losing a child, the elation and gratitude of a surgery that changes everything, the joy? Mine, mine, mine. Wanting to help others? You guessed it. 10% of my royalties will be donated to the American Society for Deaf Children to help families and children. When you buy the book, you help, too. Thank you so much.
I’d love to hear what you think of the book. Honest reviews and emails make my day. You can write to me at kimberleytroutte@verizon.net.
A frightened mother on the run…
LONNIE HOGAN has lived and breathed fear for the eight years she and her son have been on the run. She cut ties with the past and is hiding out in a small offbeat Danish community in California. Will the killers find them? She’s ready to run again, or fight for her son’s precious life, but she won’t let anyone take David.
A desperate man searching for his family…
Few people on St. John, Virgin Islands, know their favorite doctor, MARK NORTON, is a desperate man searching for the life that was stolen from him. After hours, he surfs the internet for leads and retraces paths gone stone-cold to find his missing family. He’ll do anything to find them and get his son back.
Will sacrifice everything to protect the boy who hears God…
DAVID HOGAN is a regular kid, if you don’t count the one-ear thing. He didn’t mind being deaf in one ear, but it hurt his mom, way down deep, as if she caused it. Why won’t she see bad things can happen for good reasons? Like the ear surgery that allowed him to hear God. Talking to God is one of the greatest things to ever happen to him, even if Mom doesn’t believe it. But the killers can find them now. Can one little kid save them all?
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kimberley Troutte has been an accountant, substitute teacher, caterer, financial analyst for a major defense contractor, aerobics instructor, real-estate broker, freelance writer, homework corrector and caregiver to all the creatures the kids/hubby/dog drag in. She lives with her husband, two sons, a wild cat and a snake in Southern California. She writes romantic suspense and children’s fiction.
Website | Blog | Facebook | @KTroutte |NEWSLETTER
July 15, 2014
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON is here!
It’s finally here! If you’ve missed my paranormal stories, well here ya go. And there’s so much room for more—at least five more stories, anyway. The books center around the Beaux Rêve Coven, a displaced group of sister-witches (friends not sisters, really, but I liked the polygamists’ term “sister wives” so much, I decided my new descriptive fit my girls’ situation perfectly. 
And since I have a familiarity with Wiccan/Pagan practices, magic seeps into the witches’ stories in big and small ways. If you want to try some spells, well, there are a few inside the book I hope you’ll enjoy.
Is the book sexy? While this first one’s not a ménage, the sex is plentiful and raw. The stories that follow will likely include multiple partners—too few witches, too many demons… But I led with a very sexy hero in this book. A troll. And now you have to know how one of those can be sexy, don’t you?
So enjoy Once in a Blue Moon! Let me know if you want more stories set in Bonne Nuit. And if you have time, please post a review. Let another reader know whether the time and the money they’re considering spending on my story is worth their while. I’d be forever grateful. Thank you! Be watching my Facebook and Twitter because I’m setting up a FB party to celebrate the release! There will be prizes!
Here are the links:
Samhain | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
When testing an enemy for weaknesses, prepare for things to get hard. (*snicker*)
Beaux Rêve Coven, Book 1
Bryn Cavanaugh and her coven like that the community they live in is isolated thanks to a storm that destroyed the bridge between them and the outside world. Now the state wants the bridge rebuilt. When the construction crew checks into the inn, Bryn begins to suspect something about the crew’s boss isn’t quite…human.
Bridges are Ethan Thorne’s thing—after all, he’s a troll—so building a simple span over a remote canal in backwater Louisiana shouldn’t be this much of a problem. When he follows the pretty little innkeeper to a midnight rendezvous, he discovers why his crew keeps running into trouble. Bryn and her coven are casting spells in the moonlight.
As a troll, Ethan feels the sting of his low place in demon hierarchy. But finding an unprotected coven of witches in the middle of the bayou could lead to all sorts of adventure. And it’s better to keep your enemies close…
Warning: Contains a handsome troll (Hey, it can happen!) who’s skilled at building sexual tension with his hands—and several other body parts, as well—and a witch who’s determined to protect her home, but forgets to shield her heart.
Read the First Chapter if you’re still not convinced!
July 14, 2014
Susanne Matthews: Echoes of the Past–Mixing Subgenres
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today, Delilah. Writing romantic suspense isn’t the easiest subgenre since you have to blend two threads together—the suspense and the romance—and do it almost evenly. In Echoes of the Past, I took the challenge one step further. I added a paranormal component to the story, one that meshes with both the romance thread and the suspense, and hopefully draws the reader into my wild and crazy imagination.
When I first set eyes on the Lake of The Mountain, I knew I had to craft a story around its unique and mysterious nature. Discovering a Mohawk legend attached to the lake brought the story together for me quickly. When you think of lakes and suspense, drowning seems like the ready-made crime, but I added a dash of today’s drug problems to it and wove everything together.
In the romance thread, you need a heroine and a hero looking for love, but unable to find it. What if they did find it once, but lost it? How poignant would their search to find their soul mate and recapture their love be? That’s the angle I took In Echoes of the Past. My hero and heroine are madly in love with one another, but they can’t be together initially. Why? Because they’ve never met. Sound strange?
That’s where the paranormal thread fits in. Remember the Mohawk legend I mentioned? What if my hero and heroine were reincarnations of those doomed lovers, who died and were kept apart throughout eternity because of a curse? What if they meet in dreams and relive their time together, and awake alone and bereft? How can the curse be broken? Let’s bring in the Mohawk spirits who possess their souls. Those spirits are in trouble and need our hero and heroine’s help, but only together can they defeat the evil threatening the lake. So, after two centuries, our lovers will be reunited, but will they recognize one another in this world?
Now, we have the paranormal moving into the suspense. Let’s give it another nudge by creating a heroine who can speak to the spirits of those who die by drowning and have two bodies wash ashore at the Lake of the Mountain Resort. Now, we’ve added to our paranormal thread and pulled in the mystery. What will the bodies tell our heroine?
About Echoes of the Past:
Born Mohawk, raised white, forensic pathologist, Michelle Thomas is trapped between two worlds—this one and the spirit world where the ghosts of those who’ve drowned speak to her. Haunted by crippling nightmares of her own drowning death and erotic dreams of a phantom lover, she strives to make sense of her life. When two suspicious deaths occur at the Lake of the Mountain Resort, she’s sent to investigate. She’ll face the greatest challenge of her career when her past and her present collide. One of these men is her future, but which one—the rich and powerful Mayor Ron Davies, or Tony Steele, the hydrology professor who may be responsible for his students’ deaths? Charged by the spirits of her Mohawk ancestors to atone for her previous sins by protecting Lake of the Gods, can Michelle solve the murders, save the sacred waters, and fulfil her destiny?
Excerpt from Echoes of the Past:
Naked, she lies on her back inside the green, leafy grotto, which meshes seamlessly into the landscape. It’s late morning, and after last night’s storm, everything smells clean and fresh. She stares up at the man she loves, but darkness and his long, honey-brown hair shadow his face. Her body hums in anticipation of his touch. Her nipples harden. His large, calloused hands caress her, and where they touch, her flesh burns with desire.
He runs the fingers of one hand through her unbraided hair. His lips capture hers in a searing kiss, branding her his. She reaches up to him. She opens her mouth, and a deep moan escapes her as his lips meet hers.
The scene changes. He runs along the edge of the forest across the lake. Run, my love, she screams silently as all around her the women urge their men to hurry, pointing at him, screaming instructions. He stops, and once she knows he’s seen her, she turns away. They’ll catch him, and she can’t bear to watch him be killed. She pulls her marriage blanket tightly around her shoulders. Everyone thinks she’s made it for another. Sobbing, she hurries away from the beach…
Michelle Thomas awoke in tears as she had so many nights since arriving in Thunder Bay. Bathed in sweat, she shivered with need and a bone-deep cold invaded her body. The nightmares, usually terrifying, realistic visions of her watery death, exhausted her. Recently the dreams which had plagued her most of her life had changed, and these new ones in which she was both participant and witness, frustrated and grieved her. She preferred those old night terrors to these out of body erotic fantasies with a man whose face she never saw, but loved with every ounce of her being. Tonight, the thought of his capture and death made the pain of loss worse than ever. How could she go on like this?
Her wild weeping slowed to sobbing. She got out of bed and padded into the motel room’s washroom. She turned on the light and gasped at the mirror’s reflection. The face of a woman who closely resembled her—the Mohawk woman in braids she’d been seeing off and on for weeks now—glared accusingly at her.
“What do you want from me?” She yelled at the face in the mirror, anguish loud in her tear-filled voice. “You’re dead. He’s dead. I don’t have any answers for you. Go away. Leave me in peace.”
*~*~*~*
Echoes of the Past is available from Secret Cravings Press
http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/
Check Susanne’s website for other vendors.
About the Author:
Susanne Matthews was born and raised in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. She’s always been an avid reader of all types of books, but always with a penchant for happily ever after romances. In her imagination, she travelled to foreign lands, past and present, and soared into the future. Today, gets to spend her time writing, so she can share her adventures with her readers. She loves the ins and outs of romance, and the complex journey it takes to get from the first word to the last period of a novel. As she writes, her characters take on a life of their own, and she shares their fears and agonies on the road to self-discovery and love.
Follow Susanne on her:
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter @jandsmatt
Amazon author page
Goodreads author page
July 13, 2014
Once in a Blue Moon is coming Tuesday!
There, just so you don’t forget. Like I’d let you, right?
It’s a novella, so not a huge drag on your free time. It’s currently discounted because this is release week, so you’re saving money…
Hear the wheedling? The nagging? Yeah, yeah. I’d love for you to all pre-order it, read it the second it hits your devices, and get back to me with comments, because I want to know what you thought, where you’d like this new series to go. Because I’m excited to write it. So if you haven’t already pre-ordered the book, now’s the time! Here are the links:
Samhain | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Here’s what the story is all about…
When testing an enemy for weaknesses, prepare for things to get hard. (*snicker*)
Beaux Rêve Coven, Book 1
Bryn Cavanaugh and her coven like that the community they live in is isolated thanks to a storm that destroyed the bridge between them and the outside world. Now the state wants the bridge rebuilt. When the construction crew checks into the inn, Bryn begins to suspect something about the crew’s boss isn’t quite…human.
Bridges are Ethan Thorne’s thing—after all, he’s a troll—so building a simple span over a remote canal in backwater Louisiana shouldn’t be this much of a problem. When he follows the pretty little innkeeper to a midnight rendezvous, he discovers why his crew keeps running into trouble. Bryn and her coven are casting spells in the moonlight.
As a troll, Ethan feels the sting of his low place in demon hierarchy. But finding an unprotected coven of witches in the middle of the bayou could lead to all sorts of adventure. And it’s better to keep your enemies close…
Warning: Contains a handsome troll (Hey, it can happen!) who’s skilled at building sexual tension with his hands—and several other body parts, as well—and a witch who’s determined to protect her home, but forgets to shield her heart.
Read the First Chapter if you’re still not convinced!
And just so you know, there will be things happening this week, appearances in different places, an FB party, prizes… Be sure to keep checking in at my home page and my Facebook page. In the meantime, let me know this: Are you ready for a fun witchy, demony new series? ~DD
July 12, 2014
Mallory Kane: The End of a Dynasty
In 2009, I was finishing my Black Hills Brotherhood trilogy for Intrigue and hoping I could return to New Orleans as a setting for my next books. I spoke with my editor at RWA Nationals and pitched an idea that was beginning to gel in the back of my mind. I think I actually created the pitch as I was saying it.
Huey P. Long
One of the most infamous politicians in American history is Huey P. Long of Louisiana. He used all sorts of illegal and unethical tactics to get what he wanted as governor and in the Louisiana senate, but he was always popular among the voters. I’ve often wondered what the lives of the children and grandchildren of such a man would be like. So I created a fictitious politician named Con Delancey and gave him 10 grandchildren (including a bastard son), plus a great-niece.
Con Delancey of Chef Voleur, Louisiana, was one of the state’s most infamous politicians. His grandchildren are grown now and must live with his scandalous legacy. Each one of them has a past and a secret. And each one has a story.
The Delancey Mansion in Chef Voleur
I sent in a proposal and within a short time I heard back. They loved the idea and wanted to do all eleven books as The Delancey Dynasty.
Con Delancey’s grandkids include cops, private investigators, military and attorneys, despite the fact that each one of them received a substantial inheritance from their grandfather.
There’s an overarching mystery that runs through the books—Who really killed Con Delancey? Although his personal assistant went to prison for his murder, the man declared his innocence until the day he died. With the final two books in the series, Sanctuary in Chef Voleur (July) and Blood Ties in Chef Voleur (August,) that mystery is solved, amidst kidnappings, murder and two very steamy, very moving love stories.
Outdoor cafe from Her Bodyguard
Sanctuary in Chef Voleur hit shelves on July 1, and the final Delancey book, Blood Ties in Chef Voleur will be released on August 1. An incredibly fun thing I did to celebrate the release of these two final books was to throw a live on-air release party on June 25, 8-10 pm, on Blogtalk Radio’s Hummingbird Place, Your Home for Romance. It was SO much fun talking about my mini-series, all my characters and how I went about writing an 11 book series. But the most fun was being live on BlogTalk Radio with the host, Donna Wright. She’s an amazing host. I was nervous about having enough to say to fill up two hours, but we actually ran out of time—which wasn’t a bad thing, because the reason was all the call-ins and questions from listeners. Some of the things we talked about were:
keeping up with everybody in a multi-book series,
my favorite hero and heroine,
the ending that made me cry,
the book that took place in one night,
the goriest beginning I’ve ever written,
the heroes and heroines who get themselves into impossible situations and expect me to get them out, and much much more.
I gave away a lot of swag and got to talk to some fans I’d never met or spoken to, and I got to discuss what might be the best experience I’ve had writing. Putting together eleven books about one family was a daunting task for me. I’ve written three book mini-series, but this was different. I truly feel as though I know each of these couples and am friends with them.
Tarot reader in Jackson Square, Like Rose from Death of a Beauty Queen
A great thing about BlogTalk Radio and Hummingbird Place is that the programs are archived. So, although you may have missed the live broadcast, you can listen to us and all the fun we had at BlogTalk Radio, The Hummingbird Place Archives. I invite you stop by and find out just how much fun we had. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hummingbirdplace/2014/06/26/delancey-dynasty-release-party And keep an eye on Hummingbird Place. Donna is having more release parties with some of your favorite authors. Meanwhile, check out my Delancey Dynasty mini-series on harlequin.com or amazon.com and other e-outlets. My 10th Delancey book, Sanctuary in Chef Voleur is on shelves now and the final Delancey book, Blood Ties in Chef Voleur will hit shelves August 1.
Visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMalloryKane, on Twitter: twitter.com/mallorykane, and on my web page (under construction, excuse my mess) at mallorykane.com.
Mallory
July 11, 2014
Cathryn Fox: Summer Lovin’
What do you think of when you hear the words, “Summer Lovin’”? Does the phrase conjure up fond memories of that cute guy…the one who manned the fry basket at the fast food joint where you worked during your college summer breaks? Maybe you think of John Travolta hitting the high notes in Grease, or Justin Timberlake singing Summer Love.
I think back to those days fondly, and to be honest I miss them. The days weren’t always carefree and full of fun. Sometimes they were filled with angst, love, pain, drama and even sex! Really, really great sex where we were just learning about our bodies! The best thing about being a writer is we can go back to those times through words, and using our experiences we can recreate everything we felt, loved and hated.
When I, along with five other authors decided to do a project together, we started brainstorming ideas. In no time at all we found ourselves swapping some really fun stories about our own lives. Perhaps not surprisingly, most of those stories took place during our respective college years…those summers when we were on our own for the first time, exploring what it meant to be an independent adult.
Those magical summers during college have a really specific feel and fit perfectly with our Summer Lovin’ theme, so we decided to make all six books in the series New Adult contemporary novels. Each story takes place over the same summer, at the same vacation resort in Canada, so there’s quite a bit of fun character overlap!
So tell me, what are some of your fondest memories from your twenties?
To learn more about the Summer Lovin’ series, check out our facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/SummerLovinNewAdultRomance
We’re releasing a book every two weeks starting July 7th, starting with Cathryn Fox’s Crashing Down.
Each couple’s story is unique, emotional, and as hot as the summer temps!
The Summer Lovin’ authors are also hosting a giveaway!
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b6ff204/
To learn more about each book on Goodreads:
July 7: Crashing Down by Cathryn Fox
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22046235-crashing-down
July 21: Losing It by Audra North
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22047639-losing-it
Aug 4: Loving Lies by Renee Field
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22046428-loving-lies
Aug 19: Surviving Nikki by Lilly Cain
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22048922-surviving-nikki
Sept 1: Taming Tess by Jan Meredith
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22046428-loving-lies
Sept 15: Saving Sullivan by Sara Hubbard
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22043110-saving-Sullivan
July 10, 2014
A Question…
I’m hellbent on finishing a book today or tomorrow, so I don’t have a lot of time to spend online at the moment. I promise, I’ll be checking your comments when I come up for air.
Last night, as a reward for making my word count, I watched the last episodes of The Walking Dead, Season 4. We had them recorded and watched them in blocks. All I can say is wow—fantastic plotting, amazing character arcs, wonderful actors. Look at the flowers, Lizzie.
For me, it’s in my all-time top five series. Now I have the excruciatingly long wait until Season 5 begins. I love this show so much, I find myself dreaming about it (usually involving Norman Reedus’s character, Daryl 
).
Are there shows or movies that linger in your mind and invade your dreams?
July 9, 2014
Sarah Castille: In Your Corner
Top five things I learned about mixed martial arts while researching In Your Corner, my new sexy fighter romance…
1. Yes, professional and most amateur fighters really do look like “that” i.e. hot, toned and ripped.
The pressure to “make weight” i.e. make the cut off to fight in a lower weight class, means that they cannot afford any excess fat. A 195 lb fighter will dehydrate and starve himself before a weigh-in, often cutting up to 25lbs in a matter of days and then gaining it back before the fight. Hands up everyone who wants to lose 25lbs in two days. Me!
2. Fighters protect the family jewels with shorts that have a built-in carbon flex groin protector.
I was “treated” to a demonstration of the effectiveness of the “carbon flex groin protector” during one of my research trips. As you can imagine, it involved my host, thudding his knee between the legs of his “friend” and saying “see it doesn’t hurt” while his “friend” grimaced and tried not to cry.
More interesting than the groin smash demo, however, were the names given to said equipment. After all, a man can’t put his family jewels in a simple cup. Oh no. Something that precious must be protected with a “Bad Boy Thai Metal Groin Guard” or a HEXPAD Thudd Short with Extended Thigh”. Sounds kinky if you ask me. And I would know. I wrote a kinky book.
3. MMA is about fighting. Not BDSM.
MMA is a sport. It has nothing to do with sex. So put away your copy of Fifty Shades of Grey and don’t be fooled by commentators talking about fighters taking the “dominant” position or forcing opponents into “submission.” The “ground and pound” is a fight move, it’s not about rough sex. Think sports and you’ll appreciate the skill involved in a good ‘ol “Rear Naked Choke.” And don’t get me started on the “mount.” Just remember…you don’t want to be a bottom in the mount position because you will be in danger of being submitted. Oh Christian…
4. The Submission Master wants you.
Since we’re on the subject of submission, you may not know that fighters train with “dummies.” Often life-like (although sadly not anatomically correct) fight training dummies come in all manner of shapes and sizes, but my personal favorite is…THE SUBMISSION MASTER. Dark and mysterious, The Submission Master “holds its arms and legs up where they belong… not flat out on the floor.” If you prefer blonds, his bestie, Grapple Man, has a lifelike appearance and his skin has the feel and resiliency of human flesh. Or, if you’re feeling kinky, you can have them both.
5. What’s your ring name?
For obvious reasons (see paragraph about male ego above), fighters are not allowed to choose their own ring names. They must “earn” their name as selected by their peers. If you are a good fighter and a popular guy, you might luck out and be named Pulverizer, Axe Murderer, or Terminator. But if you piss off the coach, or you’re the kind of guy who is left standing at the side during the high school dance, you can expect a name like Babalu, Putz or Bambi.
What’s your ring name? Check it out on the Fighter Name Generator below.
Thanks to Delilah for hosting me today!
IN YOUR CORNER BY SARAH CASTILLE
A Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book 2014! “You have to go. I won’t be able to control myself. I’ve wanted you so bad for so long and after I’ve been in the cage…I can’t think straight.” He gives a guttural groan and his fist clenches on my hip.
Primitive. Primal. His need speaks to me. I tighten my grip on his neck and rock up to kiss him. He takes over. His kiss is hard and demanding.
“Mine.” His voice is raw, savage and for a moment I truly believe he may lose control.
He rules in the ring
Two years ago, Jake and Amanda were going hot and heavy. But when Jake wanted more, Amanda walked away. Jake immersed himself in mixed martial arts, living life on the edge. But that didn’t dull the pain of Amanda’s rejection-until a chance encounter throws them together.
A high-powered lawyer, Amanda was a no-strings-attached kind of girl. But two years after her breakup with Jake, she still hasn’t found anyone who gets her heart pumping the way he did. And then he shows up in her boardroom, hot as sin and needing help…
But can he rule her heart?
Jake is darker, sexier, and impossible to resist. As their chemistry builds, Amanda’s not sure if she can stay in control, or if she’s finally willing to let him claim her body and soul.
BUY LINKS:
Amazon US:
http://amzn.to/1mkcsql
Barnes and Noble:
http://bit.ly/1nS1iJn
ITunes:
http://bit.ly/TguA90
Kobo:
http://bit.ly/TsW4IM
Against the Ropes (Redemption #1): A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Pick for Romance & Erotica and #1 Amazon Erotic Romance Bestseller: Amazon http://amzn.to/1o0sXYe
BIO
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, worked and travelled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies. She writes erotic contemporary romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Sign up for Sarah’s newsletter for info about new releases: http://bit.ly/SDdzWX
Website http://www.sarahcastille.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sarahcastilleauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sarah_castille
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6920675.Sarah_Castille
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/scastilleauthor/
Amazon Author: http://www.amazon.com/author/sarahcastille
EXCERPT FROM IN YOUR CORNER
“Don’t move.”
Totally immersed in painting the cupboard, I freeze mid–paint stroke at the sound of Jake’s deep voice behind me.
“What? Am I doing something wrong?”
He closes the distance between us and runs his finger along the back waistband of my gym pants, sending delicious tingles up my spine. Then he slides his hands around my waist, bared by the rise of my T-shirt as I stretch to reach the top of the cupboard with my paintbrush.
“Yes. You look too damn sexy. Do you know what it does to a man when he catches a glimpse of something he isn’t meant to see?”
“I hope it makes him tell the woman she can call off the panic attack and drop her arm,” I mutter as I do just that. “I also hope it makes him decide his hands might be of better use somewhere other than around her waist.”
Jake slides his fingers around to my stomach, resting them just over my mound and his voice drops to a low growl. “I could make use of them here.”
“So says the man who turned down a good offer just the other night at Redemption.” I remove his hands and turn to face him, putting on a brave face while inside I seethe. Who does he think he is coming on to me after brushing me off?
“No games, Jake. You made your position clear. I got that. I’m not interested in being screwed around.”
He presses his hands against the cupboard on either side of my head, caging me with his body. “What are you interested in?”
“Moving on,” I say honestly.
His pulse throbs in his neck and his eyes harden. “With whom?”
“No one right now.”
He gives a satisfied grunt as if I had just cleared up a question in his mind. “Everyone is out back having a good time. You should be there too.”
“There’s a lot of work to do. I want to get it done. The faster I open shop, the faster I can start my lawsuit against Farnsworth.” I slip under his arm and edge along the counter.
“You’ve been working since six o’clock this morning.”
Grabbing a clean cloth from the counter, I make an effort to wipe the grease off my face. “I’m used to working twenty-hour days. I’m not afraid of hard work.” But I am afraid of mercurial fighters who run hot one minute and cold the next.
His face softens, and he takes the cloth from my hand and holds it under the tap. The pipes gurgle when he turns the rusty faucet and water gushes out, skimming over the cloth and trickling into the sink below. Without warning, he lifts me and settles me on the counter.
“You don’t have to work like that anymore.” His voice is calm, soothing. I am momentarily lulled out of work mode and into heat mode as he eases his hips between my legs and reaches to turn off the faucet. “It’s Saturday night. Time to relax and have fun.” With a firm hand, he cups my jaw and then wipes the cloth gently over my nose, forehead, and cheeks.
His gentle touch, the warmth of his hand, his breath, minty and sweet, and his hard body nestled between my thighs all converge in an unbearable rush of sensation. I grab his wrist, forcing his hand away.
“Jake…I’m good. Really. There’s so much to do. I’ll come out when I’m done and I’ve cleaned myself up.”
“I like you this way,” he murmurs. “You look…cute. Real.”
“Real?”
He brushes his thumb over my cheek. “Amanda without the armor. Your clothes, hair, makeup…nothing is perfect. It’s just the real you. I never got to see the real you before.”
Torn between being mortified and pleased, I reach for another cloth. “Real Amanda is covered in dirt and has holes in her sweats.”
He traces a finger down my throat to rest in the hollow at the base of my neck. The room heats to one hundred degrees, and if I’m not mistaken, I hear the sound of my blood boiling.
“I like holes in sweats.” His voice drops, husky and low, and his finger continues its downward journey into the vee of my shirt.
“Jake…”
He traces lightly over the crescent of my breast. “I like dirty girls,” he whispers, his voice thick with desire. “I can’t stay away.”
Oh God. Every bit of warmth rushes to my center as his deep, sensual voice ignites one of my dark fantasies. Jake, straddling my bound body, growling commands, telling me what he’s going to do to me in the filthiest language I know. A soft moan escapes my lips and we’re back on the roller coaster again.
“This game you’re playing confuses me.” His heart beats strong against my palm when I lay my hand over his chest.
“Me too.”
“Then what are you doing?”
His eyes take on a feral gleam and my breasts tingle.
“Playing dirty,” he growls. Tangling his hand in my hair, he tugs my head back, exposing my throat to the heated slide of his lips. “Sometimes you have to stop thinking too much and just go with it.”
My breath comes in short pants as he sucks gently on the pulse at the base of my throat. Barely able to form a coherent thought for the pounding of blood in my temples, I scramble for sanity. “There’s too much between us to just go with it. We need to talk…”
His hand closes in my hair, twisting roughly. “Lawyers talk. You don’t look like a lawyer now. You look fucking sexy, and your mouth is all lush and pink and needing to be kissed. You want to talk, Amanda, or you want that kiss?” He nips the hollow at the base of my neck.
Pleasure and pain meld together and I whimper as a heated rush of sensation floods my veins. “Kiss.”
Jake smiles. “My dirty girl wants a dirty kiss.” Holding my face, he slants his mouth over mine and kisses me.
Soft kiss. Sweet kiss. Warm, firm lips tasting faintly of coffee. His five o’clock shadow brushes my chin as his tongue eases my lips open to stroke against mine. My body melts against him as he explores my mouth, leaving nothing untouched. Tongues wind and tangle. Two years of fantasies coalesce in a single rasping breath.
“’S not so dirty,” I mumble against his lips.
“Oh, you don’t know how dirty I can be.” Jake grips my hair and tugs my head back with a firm, hard yank, sending little bolts of lightning straight to my core. Then he kisses me hard and fast. Rough. His teeth scrape my bottom lip as his tongue dives deep, filling me, taking what I have to give and demanding more. The pounding of my heart shifts from lust to fear as he consumes me, and for a moment I worry he has forgotten I need to breathe.
When he breaks the kiss, I draw in a long, ragged breath. “You never kissed me like that before.”
“You were never like this before,” he murmurs, his fingers easing up my shirt, his thumb tracing over the crescent of my breasts. “Raw and open, vulnerable, needing my help. So fucking real.”
My breath catches in my throat as he explores, cupping and squeezing my breasts and then teasing my nipples through my lace bra until they are tight, aching peaks.
“My clothes. Take them off.”
July 8, 2014
One Week Until BLUE MOON! (Contest)
I’m on pins and needles, waiting for this book to release. It’s just the sort of thing I love to write, and I’m hoping you’ll love it too! It releases on July 15th and it’s ready for pre-order now. Here are the links:
Samhain | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Last Tuesday, I shared the opening of the story so you could meet my two lovers, Bryn and Ethan. She’s a witch. He’s a troll. She’s determined never to be possessed by another demon. He’s determined to have a witch in his pocket, because having one increases a demon’s standing and power. Of course, everything ends happily enough. And the sex is out of this world. Luckily, there are four other sister-witches in Bryn’s coven who need their happy endings. And let me tell you, the fellas outnumber the women, so you know where the series will lead.
I’ve included an excerpt. A tease, really. Just to give you a glimpse of the other characters you’ll meet along the way. And yes, there are a lot of names in this passage, but I promise if you read the whole book, you will know several of them already…
Leave a comment and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a free download from among my backlist of Samhain titles.
EXCERPT: Bryn has just discovered Ethan is a troll…
The house was eerily silent when they stepped inside the kitchen. Bryn gave Ethan a questioning glance, but he shook his head. He took her by the hand and pulled her behind him as they made their way to the parlor.
Inside, she halted. The room was crowded with men. Others. She knew because each was perfectly formed as only otherworldly creatures could be. They appeared happy to see Ethan. So they were friends of his. She hoped he’d stay true to his word. Although now, she worried he might be torn to pieces when he told the group they couldn’t take the women.
Her sisters sat, four in a row on the couch, their hands clasped together, eyes wide as saucers. When they saw her, they all began shouting.
“They’re demons.”
“Ethan’s one of them.”
“They’ve come to claim us.”
“Fucking bastards.” That last comment came from Darcy whose green eyes flashed.
Bryn shook her head, telling them silently to be quiet. Then she bowed her head.
Her sisters gasped at her submissive gesture.
Ethan’s arm encircled her waist. He tipped up her face. “We made a bargain, and it didn’t include you bowing to my will.”
Her gaze clung to him. What was he doing?
His glance swept the men gathered in the parlor. There was over a dozen of them—dark and fair, burly and lean, all with shining eyes. Renner’s sea-bright gaze was so intense, she wondered how they’d missed the fact he was Other. All of the men shared the same hard-edged, feral look. Their expressions had grown shuttered, their gazes watchful. Even Renner, who had seemed so easygoing, was frowning.
“There are complications,” Ethan said. “Bryn was already claimed. But we’ve mated. She tells me she may already be pregnant. Her sisters,” he said, nodding to the quiet women, “are mine to protect.”
Renner stepped forward. “You’re keeping them? All of them?” he asked, his voice rising.
Ethan’s frown was fierce. “I won’t be bedding them. But they will remain in this house with us. And they have my protection. I’ve promised Bryn that her friends will be given their choice of mates.”
The expressions of all the men darkened, fierce scowls that made gooseflesh rise on Bryn’s arms.
Ethan squeezed her hand and glanced down at her. “Bryn was previously mated with a hellhound. Merrick, to be precise. And since you all know his reputation, you know that when he finds us, he’ll try his best to kill me. You have no obligation to stand with me. If you leave now, you won’t be implicated.”
Bryn offered him a small smile and then they both turned back to the group.
Renner’s gaze shot to the women. His frown eased as he gave each a thorough glance.
Bryn knew what he saw. Four very frightened but determined women.
He raised his head to meet Ethan’s stern glance. “I’m staying. I’ll help you protect them.”
There were murmurs from the group, but they stepped forward one by one and gave the same pledge.
Renner smiled ruefully. “For a low-life troll, you’ve certainly reached high.”
“As a bottom-dwelling draugr, you aren’t exactly standing on my shoulders.”
In truth, if all the men in the room were friends to a troll and a draugr, they were from the lowest echelons of demon spawn. It was easy to see that ambition to rise higher than their birthright and their kind had bonded them.
Ethan gave a nod. “So be it. Every woman will have three guards. You’ll work in shifts. One at night, two during the day. And we have to continue the bridge project.” His gaze went to Renner. “You make the assignments.”
Miren cleared her throat, drawing all the male gazes to where she sat on the couch. “Since we’re the ones who have to put up with you constantly underfoot, don’t you think we should choose our own bodyguards? I run a shrimping outfit. Who among you doesn’t lose his breakfast on a boat?”
Renner’s grin stretched. “I’m a sea-draugr.”
Two more raised their hands. “We’re mer-folk.”
And so the assignments were made according to common interests and powers.
Finding beds for all of them proved more challenging. The women took Bryn’s remaining empty rooms. Pallets were made up for the men in the upstairs hallway and on the porch, with one man stationed inside each of the witchs’ rooms. Something the women seemed entirely too excited about.
“Sisters,” Bryn hissed after she pulled them into the kitchen for a last-minute chat. “I know we’ve been without male company for a while, but you’ve been offered a gift. Don’t allow them to romance the right of choice out from under you.”
“So says the woman who has twice been claimed,” Darcy said with an arch of her red brow.
“Claimed once by a monster. As you well remember.” She sighed. “Please, take your time. We don’t know these men. For now, Ethan seems to have them roped in, but they’ve all caught your scents. We can’t have them challenging each other for your hands.”
“It’s not like we have to choose only one,” Miren said, but then pressed her lips into a narrow line at Bryn’s frown. “Just sayin’.”
Her sisters giggled.
“True,” said Darcy. “And how does one choose between a dragon and a gargoyle?” Darcy ran a crafters’ cottage, complete with pottery wheel and kiln. Her choices had naturally aligned with stone and fire.
Radha giggled. “The satyr offered to let me sheer his fur to make yarn on my spindle.”
Bryn couldn’t help it, a smile tugged at her mouth. “So long as you realize that the moment you accept a mate and he claims you, that the echo will sound.”
“Merrick and his friends might already know,” Aoife said. “How can we trust that every one of Ethan’s friends will keep his silence?”
“There are plenty of games we can play without risking an echo,” Darcy said with a graceful wave of her hand. “A little play might bind them closer to us.”
A rap sounded on the kitchen door. Ethan pushed through it. “The men are ready to bed down. It might be best for the women to retreat to their rooms.”
The sisters shared charged glances. “If anyone cries out,” Bryn whispered, “we shall all answer.”
They nodded, and then the women trailed out of the kitchen, leaving Bryn alone with Ethan.
Bryn sighed. “This is—”
“Complicated,” he finished. “I know. But you can trust me.”
“And should I trust the others?”
He arched one brow. “You don’t think they all fear a troll?”
She shrugged. “I suppose. I’ve never seen you in your true form.”
“And you won’t. Not unless I have to protect you.” He held out his hand. A hint of his earlier arousal was there in his dark eyes. “I’ll be staying in your room.”
Not a question, but she nodded, agreeing. “Of course.”
“Kahn and Sigurd understand that so long as they watch over you during the day, they are free to woo the others.”
She jutted her chin. “You didn’t offer them the chance to share?”
His grunt was wickedly masculine. “Do you really think you could handle more than me in your bed?”
She remembered the immense pressure. She was sure, once she was accustomed to his girth, that just the act of him entering her would be enough to set her off. “No. I don’t want another lover. And we have a bargain. You’re free to include that stipulation.”
“Then I will. Come to bed.”
As meek as a lamb, she allowed him to lead her through her house and up the wooden staircase. She passed the girls’ rooms, heard laughter, smelled the heady mix of testosterone and estrogen, of arousal so thick her own body began to warm, her breasts and pussy to thicken with her stirring blood.
She stepped around the pallet of blankets and quilts that Kahn had made for himself outside her door. He was jinn, and his talents would have more naturally aligned with Radha’s, but Bryn understood her sister’s reluctance to accept his proximity. He was seduction incarnate when he smiled. His mouth was sensual and mobile, his black eyes filled with mystery. He’d probably scared the dickens out of Radha.
“Sigurd’s on the porch,” Kahn said. “He wants to run in wolfskin tonight.”
She nodded, uncomfortable with the way the men talked openly about their true selves after having suppressed her own for so long except in front of her sisters.
Ethan followed her into her room and began to disrobe.
She stiffened.
He studied her face and stopped when he was wearing only his boxer briefs. “I’ll sleep on top of the covers.”
She shook her head. “We’ve passed that point. But this is an adjustment for me.”
“And I told you before we mated that I’d respect your right to tell me no.”
“I can’t tell you that,” she said, her eyes beginning to well with tears. Her need was strong. And he knew it. A tremble shook her frame and she gasped.
There was understanding in his eyes. Perhaps a little sympathy. A witch’s heightened state of arousal when in the company of a mate wasn’t something she was prepared to fight. Especially not when she knew the pleasure he would give her.
She turned and lifted her hair. And just as he had in the gazebo, he moved closer and pulled down her zipper.
July 7, 2014
Susan R. Hughes: Weddings on Main Street (Contest)
Wedding season is upon us. I love weddings. I adore the glamorous gowns, the profusion of flowers, seeing family and friends brought together in celebration, and most of all I love watching a couple pledge their forever love to one another. Some people are cynical about marriage these days, but I believe in it wholeheartedly. Something I love about romance novels is that you’re guaranteed a happily-ever-after ending, and usually that means a wedding. Of course, a perfect wedding doesn’t mean the years that follow will go smoothly. There are bumps in the road for any couple on their journey through life together—but at the end of a well-crafted story, we know the bond between the hero and heroine is strong enough to carry them through the challenges they are bound to face.
As wonderful as weddings are, preparing for the big day can be fraught with stress. Brides put pressure on themselves to create the perfect event, and there may be budget strains or conflict with family over decisions. And consider the bridesmaids, forced to wear whatever puffy-sleeved tangerine or fuchsia monstrosity the bride chooses for her!
All the drama can make an ideal backdrop for a story. My new novella, Kiss the Bridesmaid (available as part of the Weddings on Main Street boxed set), follows the budding romance of Mari and Jake, a bridesmaid and a wedding photographer, during the months leading up to Mari’s brother’s wedding. For Mari, the stress of preparing for the wedding has nothing to do with money, fashion or squabbles with the other attendants. She’s anxious about her hidden disorder that might make it difficult to stand at the front of the church during the ceremony. Meanwhile, Jake is recovering from a disastrous marriage and only wants to focus on the needs of his young daughter—but he can’t resist falling in love with Mari.
Do you have a favourite wedding story? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Weddings on Main Street, a collection of all-new novellas by eleven authors.
Amazon link: http://authl.it/B00KV0AZVI
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/weddings-on-main-street-tori-scott/1119711535?ean=9780985515485
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id888130300
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/weddings-on-main-street
My website: http://susanrhughes.weebly.com/
